Once a year my little neighbourhood comes to life. The children dress up, there are more women wearing a hijab while riding a motorbike than usual, the loudspeaker is turned up and my street smells of amazing home cooked food at 4am.
It must be Ramadan.
Ramadan is the ninth month in the Muslim calendar and is observed by a period of fasting between sunrise and sunset. When I say fasting I mean not only from food but also from drinking liquids, smoking and having sex. In my town this is quite a big deal as around 50% of the Thai’s who live here are Muslim.
I was lucky enough to take part in a few Ramadan traditions and headed to the market with my friend Shah to buy food to break the fast one night (Iftar). The food was great – even without me fasting all day!
(Those black things are bees – all this was made with fresh honey)
(Practising wrapping our head scarves)
The next day I got to part in Zakat Fitrah. This is something that all Muslim families are encouraged to do during Ramadan, give rice to the local mosque. It is supposed to be 2kg per person but my lovely friend gave 15kg each to two different mosques from her and her brother! The mosque then uses this rice to feed the hungry.
(Choose your rice)
(Literally translated to ‘Mosque Street’!)
(Donating)
(Polite attire… Except for those attractive ankles)
Talking to her about it I commented that it must at least be easier to fast at this time of year while sunrise is much later – around 6am – and the days shorter. Apparently not. The eating must be completed before first prayer (usually around 4.40am) and the fasting can’t be broken till after last prayer. My friend has the prayer times saved on her phone – the sunrise to sunset saying is just to keep it simple.
(Prayer times)
It got me thinking how difficult it must be, not eating or drinking all day in 30+ degree heat. The ritual of fasting usually only starts when you are 13 or 14 years old, however in reality children practice from as young as 5 years old, starting with half a day and gradually moving up to a full day. A pretty intense thing to do.
Then I read an article that made me smile – #ramadanproblems.
Muslims who don’t take themselves too seriously have jumped on twitter with the hashtag #ramadanproblems, a knock off of the saying ‘First world problems’. It seems this is a great way to cope and share the problems of Ramadan. It also unites Muslims of different sects in a fun and humorous way. Check it out…
